Joint statement from Bruntwood and Bury Council on the GMCA funding for Mill Gate

Bruntwood and Bury Council have welcomed the announcement of £24.1m of funding from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority's (GMCA) Good Growth Fund to support the proposed first phase of redevelopment at Mill Gate, the retail destination at the heart of Bury town centre.

Chris Roberts, Chief Development Officer at Bruntwood, said: “This is a huge vote of confidence in Bury as well as in the ambition we share with the Council for Mill Gate. It gives us momentum to take an important first step towards the wider, long-term transformation of the retail destination and town centre.

“Bury already has so much going for it, and our ambition is to build on those strengths. We want to better connect Mill Gate with the Market, interchange and wider town centre, creating great public spaces and a more welcoming place where people want to spend time, businesses can thrive and further investment can follow.

“We’re grateful to GMCA for its commitment to Bury and for backing our partnership. There is still work to do and the proposals for this first phase will be shaped through consultation in November and subject to the relevant approvals, but this funding is a significant step towards making our long-term vision a reality.”

Cllr Charlotte Morris, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Growth, said: “The Mill Gate is a hugely important asset in our Town Centre and these proposals represent a significant step towards turning our long-term plans for the site into reality.

“The proposals will help open up the centre, improve the way people move through it and strengthen connections between the Mill Gate, our award-winning Market, the interchange, Casewells and the wider town. Alongside the existing retail offer, we want to create opportunities for a broader mix of uses, better public spaces and more reasons for people to visit Bury, spend time here and return.

“The Council has taken a deliberate, long-term approach to the Mill Gate. We partnered with Bruntwood and jointly acquired the 15-acre estate in 2022 before working together to develop the Mill Gate Strategic Regeneration Framework in 2024 which established a coordinated vision for the future of the site. The latest investment being secured through the GMCA Good Growth Fund represents another important step in moving that vision from strategy into delivery.

“There is still significant work ahead, but this investment gives us an opportunity to build on the Mill Gate’s existing strengths and help create a more open, connected and diverse part of the town centre that complements the investment happening around it.”

Cllr Eamonn O'Brien, Leader of Bury Council, said: “This is a significant milestone for Bury and an important investment in the future of our town centre, but crucially the Mill Gate does not sit in isolation. The progress now being made is the product of a much longer-term strategy for the future of our town centre and the borough as a whole.

“The direction was established through our ‘LET’S Do It!’ vision back in 2020, with its clear ambition to accelerate economic growth while reducing deprivation. The 2022 Bury Town Centre Masterplan translated those ambitions into a long-term plan for the town centre, recognising that Bury needed to respond to changing patterns of how people shop, live, work and spend their time, while protecting the strengths that already make the town distinctive.

“We are now seeing that strategy turn into delivery across Bury town centre. Alongside the Mill Gate, the new interchange is being progressed, plans for new homes at Pyramid Park and Q-Park are moving forward, Casewells is approaching completion and investment has already taken place around our Markets. Each project has a different role, but together they form a cohesive programme of connected investment designed to strengthen Bury Town Centre for the long term. 

“This is what ‘LET’S Do It!’ looks like in practice: strategy translated into plans, and plans into tangible change. 

“We are doing it, but we are not done.” 

A formal public consultation on the proposed first phase of Mill Gate’s redevelopment will take place in November, with further details about the proposals and how people can have their say to be shared in due course.